Breeding Convicts

[brett.wierenga@yahoo.com]

hi, i have 4 convicts in a 40 gallon tank and am having trouble getting them to breed. this is very unusual for this species and i am wondering what i should do to to improve my chances of getting them to breed. advise is greatly appreciated!

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Brett.
Have you tried posting in the cichlid part of the forum? People there are more specialist in breeding cichlids than we are here in the New to the Hobby part.

 

[TetraUk]

Hi, Have you got an obvious pair out of the four, if you have mixed sexes I’m surprised a pair haven't bonded and made it obvious? Convicts are normally very easy to breed, so it could be a number of things... What age are they and also how is the aquarium setup? Convicts like to dig i.e. a good thickness of fine gravel and also like caves or some slate supported at an angle.

I will try and dig up some of my old breeding set-up for you. Only other thing to consider when attempting breeding convicts is that they are very hard to re-home. I gave mine away after finding all my local stores were not even interested in them for free as they don't sell very well due to the fact they don't go well in community set-ups. Just a thought

(Edited for spelling)

 

[OldMan47]

What I have seen is that one of my LFS actually breeds convicts in their fish show room next to where they are selling inch long juveniles, TetraUK. I think it is a great gimmick to help them sell the fish as easy to breed. They have been using a small flower pot turned on its side as the breeding cave for them.